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B. C. ROWELL DECYD.

L. c. HOWELL, EXECUTRIX. OPERATING MECHANISM FOR TRACK INSTRUMENTS. APPLICATION FILED JULY 29. 1910.

Patented Aug. 1, 1916. 3 SHEETS-SHEET llllk' mums urzns m. pnomumm muwmcmn. c, c.

B. C. HOWELL, DECD.

L. C. HOWELL, EXECUTRIX- Patented Aug. 1, 1916.

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OPERATING MECHANISM FOR TRACK INSTRUMENTS APPLICATION FILED JULY 29.1910.

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B. C. ROWELL, DECD. L. C. ROWELL. EXECUTRIX. OPERATING MECHANISM FOR TRACK INSTRUMENTS.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 29.1910. 1 1 93,%9. Patented Aug. 1,1916,

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BENTON C. RONELL, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS; LILLA G. ROWELL EXECUTBIX OF SAID BENTON C. HOWELL, DECEASED.

OPERATING MECHANISM FOR TRACK INSTRUMENTS.

icence.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. i, ieie.

7 '0 all whom it may concern I Be it known that I, BENTON C. RownLL, a citizen of the United States, residing in Chica go, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful improvement in Operating Mechanism for Track Instruments, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to the construction of track instruments employed as safety stops for railways, and to the mechanism for positioning them, and is an improvement on the construction set forth in my Patent No. 7 7 6146 of November 29, 190i.

The nature of the present invention is fully disclosed below and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, and in the latter Figure 1 is a plan of a section of railroad track forming a block of the signal system, and provided with my improved track instruments and their positioning mechanism. Fig. 2 is a section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a vertical longitudinal section of the power connections of the positioning mechanism. Figs. 4 and 5 are sections on the lines H and 55 respectively of Fig. 3. Fig. 6 is a vertical section of a portion of the positioning mechanism. Figs. 7 and S are sections on the lines 7-7 and 88 of Fig. 6. Fig. 9 is a side elevation of one of the track instruments. Fig. 10 is a section of the joint uniting the pipe line and one of the casings.

As is the case in the track instruments in my said patent, those of my present invention are composed of a base 10 having raised ears 11 at its ends, and levers 12 and 13 each pivoted in the cars 11 at one of the ends of the base, and pivotally united together at their meeting ends. in position to operate the train instrument carried by the locomotive by a lever 14 mounted upon and operated by a shaft 15 and adapted to swing its free end through an are prescribed by the loop 16 attached to the lever 13. When the lever 14 moves to its limit in one direction. it raises levers 12 and 13 into their operative position and when it swings to the limit in the other direction it depresses said levers to their nonoperating position. As shown in Fig. 9 the lever 14: which I call the positioning lever has raised the levers 12 and 13 into operative position, the roller 17 at the end of lever 14 These levers are raisedhaving been carried to the right hand end of the-loop. The shaft 15 has a bearing in a vertically movable block 18 supported at each side on springs 19 encircling the bolts 20 which are sustained from the base 10. A cross bar 21 connects the bolts at the bottom and supports the springs, so that the lifting power of the springs is transmitted to the levers 12 and 13 through the lever 14: and renders them yielding and adapted to be depressed without any reversal of lever 1 1 such as occurs when the instrument is changed from clear to danger or vice versa. When the levers are depressed through the yielding of the springs as stated, without any accompanying operation of the track instrument, they spring back and return the levers 12 and 13 to the position occupied by them at the time of the depression, as soon as the depressing agency is withdrawn or passes over.

Two track instruments like that described are employed in every case, and they are arranged at a suitable distance apart and are normally in contrary positions. That is, when one is at clear the other one will be at danger so that if any locomotive passes one track instrument without being arrested, it will be arrested by the other one provided the positions of the track instruments are not reversed during the interval while the locomotive is passing between the two track instruments. In actual practice, the track instruments will be so governed by the visual signals that they may be used to control the speed of the train and their positions will be governed in accordance with the positions of the home and distant signals. Inasmuch as this forms no part of the present invention, I do not deem it necessary to describe its arrangement. To secure the contrary position of the instruments at all times, they are connected together by a line connection operated from the power station of the block, and adapted to shift them simultaneously and with certainty, so that they do not lose their opposite positionsno matter how often the trains pass nor how often they change direction. A very desirable construction of this line is illustrated in the drawings of this case. It preferably consists of centrally located sprocket chains 22,

28, other sprocket chains 24 at each end of the endless line, and wire connections .25

connected with the end chains and chains 22, 28. The center chains pass around the power sprocket wheel 26 the shaft of, which is driven by a suitable power machine contained in the housing 27 and adapted to receive accretions of power by the depressing of a lever 28 by the wheels of passing trains. The wheel 26 is adapted to move the line in both directions, by passing both the center chains entirely around the wheel and also passing them under idler rolls 29 each mounted between the upper ends of a pair of inclined rods 30, one such roll being located at each side of the wheel 26 and in close proximity thereto. The rods 30 are passed freely through horizontal bars 31 relatively stationarily located and each supported at one end in the casing 32, and stayed at the other end by a hook'shaped arm 83. Below the bars 81 each rod is provided with a collar. 3i preventing upward movement of the rod, and confined on each rod between said collar and a nut at the bottom end, is a spring 86, the pressure of which is exerted downwardly on the rod. By this construc: tion, the rolls 29 tend to keep the line taut and they also yield when the line contracts in length from the effect of cold, and take up any increase in length due to warm weather.

The end chains are duplicates of each other and each is passed around a sprocket wheel 37, and the wheels 37 are mounted each upon one of the shafts 15, so that said shafts are operated as described with each operation given the endless line. To insure perfect engagement by the sprocket chains with the wheels 37 a tightener 38 is employed. This tightener is attached by a swinging arm 39 to the pivot of a stationarily located guide wheel 40 and is supported from below by a rod 11 movable through a rocking guide d2, and is further provided with an encircling spring 43 the pressure of which tends to force the tight ener upward. This construction adapts the tightenor to assist in keeping the chain taut.

The track instruments may be duplicated upon both sides of the track so they will act upon trains approaching from either direction, and also so they will with certainty operate the train instruments of such locomotives as have only one train instrument whether the same is on the right or the left side. In cases where the track instruments are thus duplicated they preferably are connected to the same shafts 15 and operated simultaneously thereby. In practice however, I have not found'this duplication of.

the instruments tobe necessary. I prefer to put one or more universal couplings l4: in the shafts 15 as shown in Fig. 1 so that their operation need not be afiected if their bearings are not in exact alinement. The instruments are also each desirably provided with operating weights 50 mounted upon arms 51 of hell cranks pivoted upon standards 52, and each connected to the endless line by the other bell crank arm 53, at right angles to arm 51 and a horizontal link 54' joined to the endless line at 55. The weights of the two instruments are so positioned that they balance each other normally and hence do not tend to move the endless line, but in case'of any breakage in the endless line, then the weight at the instrument which stands at clear will at once automatically force that instrument to danger position.

Each endless line is inclosed throughout its entire length by a pipe line 60 and suitable housings 82 and 61 at the center and the ends in which the operating wheels are located, and these pipe lines and housings are kept constantly full of non-freezing oil so that the entire track instrument shifting line and all its operating and supporting wheels and rolls will be constantly immersed therein. This oil effectually protects the line and all the immersed parts from injury by the weather as it excludes air and moisture anddoes not permit the frost or condensations producing moisture to form within the inclosure. And in order that theinclosure may be kept full of oil, I locate the filling opening 56 at the top of the central housing 32, which is the highest point in the inclosure.

It will be understood that proper controlling mechanism is provided for the power machine whereby the shifting of the endless positioning line by that machine is controlled in accordance with the requirements of the traflic passing over the road. A suitable construction of such controlling mechanism is set forth in my application Serial No. 571889 now pendin The levers 1aalways move from one end to the other of the loops 1G in reversing the track instruments and have no intermediate position of rest; In these movements they always travel from one side of the vertical plane of their axes to the other side thereof, and at the conclusion of each stroke, whether to the right or the left, they assume positions inclined as plainly shown in Fig. 2, and in such inclined positions no amount of pressure upon the operating levers will have any tendency to reverse or change the position of levers 14.

At the junctions of the pipe lines 60 with the housings 32 and 61, it is important that a construction of joint be used which will accommodate the expansion and contraction which takes place in those parts when changes in the temperature occurflTo this end the housings are provided with mouth pieces 65 upon which are threaded thimbles 66 (see Fig. 10). One end of each thimble fits closely upon the outside of the pipe line which is extended into and through the thimble, and slides therein as the pipe line expands or contracts. A packing ring 67 of asbestos or other suitable material is inserted in the thimble against the end of the mouth piece and closely compressed so that the joint is rendered oil tight.

Although the levers 14: swing to different distances upon opposite sides of their axes, yet they raise the track instruments to the highest positions when moving over their axes, and they do this both when raising and when depressing the instruments. In consequence of this, there occurs no interval of time during the reversing of the instruments when one instrument or the other is not in condition to act upon a passing locomotive, one instrument remaining in its acting position until the other is raised to that position.

I claim 2- 1. An apparatus of the character described including, in combination: opposed track instruments having ope 'ative and inoperative positions; shifting mechanism; continuous connections from the shifting mechanism to the track instruments to operate the latter; and casings inclosing said shitting mechanism and the connections, said casings protecting the inclosed parts from injury by the weather, substantially as specified.

2. An a giparatus of the character described including, in combination: a track instrument having operative and inoperative positions; shifting mechanism; connections from the shifting mechanism to the track instrument for operating the latter; casings within which said shifting mechanism and connections are inclosed, said casings being liquid-tight; and a non-freezing solution in said casings and in which the shifting mechanism and the connections are immersed whereby the latter are protected from injury by the weather, substantially as specilied.

3. An apparatus of the character described including, in combination: a pair 0t track instruments separated from each other along the line of the track; shitting mechanism located intermediate the track instruments; flexible connections between the shifting mechanism and the track instruments and adapted to operate the latter; a housing within which the shifting mechanism is inclosed; and pipes inclosing the flexible connections and joined to the housing by expansion oints, the housing and pipes protccting the shifting mechanism and the flexible connections from the weather, substantially as specified.

l. An apparatus of the character described including, in combination: a pair of tracl: instruments separated from each other along the line of the track; shifting mechanism intermediate the track instruments; flexible connections from the shifting mechanism to the track instruments to operate the latter; casings inclosing the shifting mechanism and the flexible connections, the casings being liquid-tight; and a non-freezing solution in said casings and in which the shifting mechanism and flexible connections are immersed, whereby the latter are protected from the weather, substantially as specified.

5. An apparatus of the character described including, in combination: a pair of track instruments separated from each other along the line of the track, each track instrument having operative and inoperative positions; a positioning element for each of the track instruments for changing the position of the latter from operative to inoperative and vice versa; connections between said positioning elements operating both simultaneously, one from operative to inoperative and the other from inoperative to operative and vice versa; and means associated with each t ack instrument and its positioning element for holding the track instrument in an operative position substantially as specified.

6. An apparatus of the character described including, in combination: a pair of track instruments separated from each other along the lines of the track, each track instrument having levers 12 and 13 movable from operative to inoperative positions and vice versa; and means for changing the positions of said tiack instruments simultaneously and oppositely, said means including at each track instrument a positioning lever 14- oscillatable about a horizontal axis and movable from one side to the other of a vertical plane passing through its axis, in shifting the track instrument from operative to inoperative position and vice versa, whereby at least one of said track instruments is always in an operative posltion, substantially as specified.

BENTON C. ROVVELL.

Witnesses:

H. M. MUNDAY, Enw. S. EvAn'rs.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

